Lucy Is Enceinte
Previous episode: Lucy Changes Her Mind Next episode: Pregnant Women Are Unpredictable http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/LucyRickyLove.jpg http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/ABMfisher/Enceinte.jpg Plot Lucy is off to the doctor for a check-up. She tells Ethel that she's been feeling "dawncey" lately, a word her grandmother invented for "when you aren't sick but just feel lousy." When Lucy tells Ethel that she's been fatigued, unenergetic, and been mysteriously gaining weight, Ethel suspects that Lucy may be pregnant. Lucy can't believe Ethel would even suggest something so outrageous after Lucy has remained childless for all 11 years of her marriage. But when Lucy returns from the doctor, she is dreamy and floating on cloud 9. She happily tells Ethel that she is indeed having a baby, and that Ethel and Fred will be the baby's godparents. Ethel runs off to tell Fred the good news. Lucy stops her and says not to tell Fred until Ricky hears the news. Ethel can't believe that Lucy hasn't told Ricky yet, but Lucy says that she's dreamt all her life about the very special way she would tell her husband they were going to have a baby. She wants to sit on Ricky's lap, put her arms around his neck, and say that all their blessings have been granted. When Ricky comes home for lunch, Lucy tries over and over again to tell him the news. But she is continually interrupted by Ricky's eating, the telephone ringing, and Fred and Ethel coming over to see if Ricky had found out yet. Ricky thinks Lucy's acting very strangely and is cuddling up to him on his lap because she spent too much money or done something wrong. Lucy ends up running off and crying. Ricky goes to the club for rehearsal. Lucy travels all the way downtown to tell Ricky there. But Ricky tells the orchestra that he wants complete and utter silence- his wife has something important to say. Lucy gets all flustered and embarrassed, not wanting to reveal something so personal in front of a bunch of men she doesn't know. She pretends she came to the club to ask for the time, and she runs off all upset. That night, Lucy goes to the Tropicana and slips the maitre'd a note. Ricky is given the note, which says how a woman in the audience hasn't yet told her husband that they're going to have a "blessed event." The woman knows Ricky has sung the number "We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me" before, and she hopes singing the song will help her break the news to her husband. Ricky goes around asking the women at every table if she's the one who is pregnant and wrote the note. When he gets to Lucy, he motions to her as part of the routine, and she nods her head "yes." When Ricky realizes that he is the expectant father, he excitedly runs over to Lucy, in total shock. The episode ends with the couple hugging and kissing after Ricky finishes singing to Lucy. Trivia *Forbidden to ever use the word "pregnant" on the show, which was considered distasteful by Phillip Morris and CBS, the title of this episode uses the French word for "pregnant," which is the pretty-sounding "enceinte." The original script used the word "pregnant" a lot, but they were ordered by the executives to scrap all uses of the word from the episode. *Starting with this episode, all seven pregnancy-themed episodes' scripts were first screened by a minister, a priest, and a rabbi, to make sure nothing questionable was included. The religious men never said one thing in all seven scripts needed to be taken out. They praised the episodes for being happy and realistic. They even advocated to use the word "pregnant," which they saw as harmless. *Phillip Morris said that Lucille Ball was not allowed to be shown smoking in any of the pregnancy episodes, so cigarettes causing harm to unborn fetuses must have already been known in some context. *Even though great care was taken to make Lucy's pregnancy in good taste, hilariously, Lucy and Ricky's single beds were pushed together all throughout the end of the first season and the beginning of the second season, just around the time when Little Ricky would have been conceived. *When it came time for Ricky to sing "We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me" to Lucy, the script said for both Ricky and Lucy to be overjoyed and extremely happy. When the cameras rolled, however, Lucy and Desi both were overcome with the intense emotion they felt when they found out they were finally pregnant with their second child, Desi, Jr. (This episode aired December 8, 1952 and Desi, Jr. was born on January 19, 1953. Their first child, Lucie, was born July 17, 1951.) The husband and wife cried tears of happiness during the scene instead of acting cheerful. Lucy and Desi were embarrassed afterwards about having cried on camera, so they reshot the scene the way it was written. *You can tell Desi is overcome with emotion long before he and Lucy shed tears of bliss together. First, while he's singing "Rockabye, Baby" when trying to find out which woman in the audience is pregnant, he messes up the lyrics and sings the "cradle will fall" part twice. Then, when it came time for him to sing "We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me" to Lucy, he forgot what he was supposed to do next. The orchestra had to shout, "Sing the baby song!" for him to remember his next move. *Part of the lyrics of "We're Having a Baby, My Baby and Me" are "you read it in Winchell that we're adding a branch to our family tree." Ironically, Lucy and Desi first found out about one of Lucy's pregnancies (the second to end in a miscarriage) by listening to Walter Winchell. Somehow, Winchell had gotten the lab results of Lucy's pregnancy test and reported the positive result before the couple even had heard back from the doctor! *Like Lucy and Ricky, Lucy and Desi spent the first decade of their marriage childless. After a while, Desi's mother, Delores, said that the reason the couple hadn't been blessed with children was because they had eloped and hadn't gotten married in a church, under the eyes of God. So, Lucy and Desi renewed their vows on June 19, 1949, this time in a Catholic church. Lucy promised to raise her future children in the Catholic faith. Lucy's good friend Ed Sedgwick walked her down the aisle. This second ceremony must have done the trick, because, by July 12, 1951, Lucy had had two miscarriages and finally gave birth to Lucie. Lucy and Desi always celebrated their anniversary on the day they first got married, though (November 30th). *Ricky had celery and a delicious sandwich for lunch when Lucy tried to tell him the big news. *Parts of the emotional ending scene where Ricky sings to Lucy were used as flashbacks in the season 6 Christmas special. *Out of the many letters that Lucy and Desi received regarding opinions about Lucy's pregnancy being featured on the show, only about 200 responses were negative. *Before Lucy finds out she's pregnant, she thinks that the doctor will give her a liver shot to feel better. How is weight gain, fatigue, and other pregnancy symptoms related to the liver?! And what IS a liver shot, anyway?! **A "liver shot" may refer to a Vitamin B12 shot. Quotes *Lucy: I've been feeling real dawncey. Ethel: "Dawncey"? Lucy: Yeah, that's a word my grandmother made up for when you aren't really sick but you just feel lousy. *Lucy: A baby?! Ethel: Yeah, "baby." That's a word my grandmother made up for "tiny, little people." *Lucy: Ethel, we're going to have a baby! Ethel: (excitedly) We are?! Oh, isn't that wonderful? I never had a baby before! I mean, I've never been let in on it so soon! Lucy: "Let in on it"? Well, you knew it even before I did. This whole thing was practically your idea! *Ethel: Did the doctor say what it's gonna be? Lucy: It's gonna be a baby! Ethel: No, I mean, I wonder if it's going to be a boy or a girl? Oh, I can't wait to find out whether I'm gonna be a godmother or a godfather! *Lucy: I'll sit on his lap and I'll put my arms around his neck, and I'll say, "Ricky, darling, our dream has come true. You and I are going to be blessed with something that means more to us than anything in the whole world." *Ricky: (about Lucy making him swallow his food too quickly) My stomach is gonna think I lost my teeth! *Ricky: Believe me, if you traded places with me, you'd be surprised. Lucy: Believe me, if I traded places with you, YOU'D be surprised! *Ricky: Now, how can nobody ring the doorbell? Nobody's necktie is caught in the door! *Lucy: But, Ricky, I want to talk to you about something. Ricky: Now, look, sweetheart, whatever it is, use your own judgment. Now, if you think it's a good idea, go ahead with it. *Fred: (gives Lucy a baseball for the baby) And wait'll you see the name on this! That's the name of the best ball player the Yankees ever had. Lucy: Oh, "Spaulding"! Fred: No, honey! Turn it around! Lucy: "Joe DiMaggio"! Fred: You betcha! Ol' Joltin' Joe himself! *Lucy: Ricky's gotta know, and if I don't tell him soon, I might as well wait and let the baby tell him! ﻿